Curtis Lloyd, however, could still garner an up to $15,000 FBI reward, although no one – including himself – appears ready to talk about if it already has or will ever become a reality.

Lloyd came across Hailey Dunn’s remains in March near Lake JB Thomas in Scurry County.

About five months ago, Colorado City officials – believing the teen would never be found alive – dissolved the town’s reward fund and returned at least $10,000 to donors.

“I hate to say it but everyone had kind of given up hope that she was alive,” said David Hoover, Colorado City’s current city manager.

Asked whether the Colorado City reward money could be regathered and presented to Lloyd for finding Hailey Dunn’s remains, Hoover said: “We could, but right now we have no plans to do so.”

The donations – mostly checks – were sitting in a vault at Colorado City offices when the decision was made to return them to donors, including a banker and businessman who gave $5,000 each, said Pete Kampher, former city manager of Colorado City.

A letter detailing the return of the donations to donors was sent on Dec. 20, 2012, Hoover said.

The decision partly was based on the FBI, which is assisting with the death probe, offering an up to $15,000 reward of its own, Hoover said this week.

“As to your reward questions, to protect the safety, anonymity and privacy of individuals that provide information, the FBI generally does not comment on reward money and its disbursement, to include if a payment is made, the amount paid, who is paid or how many people are paid,” Gilkinson Chaumont said in an email.

That means only Lloyd would know if the reward has been paid out – and repeated efforts to reach him for comment have been unsuccessful since he told KTXS and other news organizations details about his Hailey Dunn remains find.

On the FBI’s national and Dallas region websites, Hailey Dunn’s poster is listed under the category of “Seeking Information” under the “Most Wanted” section.

The FBI’s Hailey Dunn poster calls for “information leading directly to the arrest of the individual responsible for this crime.”

Lloyd recently told KTXS that he found a skull, a tooth and a femur, along with blue warmups that Hailey Dunn, then 13, was believed to have been wearing when she disappeared in late December 2010.

According to the FBI website, Hailey Dunn was last seen wearing the blue sweat pants, along with a short-sleeved shirt and pink and white tennis shoes.

The FBI continues to urge anyone with information into Hailey Dunn’s death to call the Dallas FBI at 972-559-5000 or the Crime Stoppers tipline at 1-800-252-8477.

BACKGROUND ON THE CASE

Hailey Dunn’s mother apparently still hasn’t been questioned by law enforcement since her daughter’s remains were found nearly seven weeks ago.

Billie Dunn’s live-in boyfriend at the time of Hailey Dunn’s late December 2010 disappearance – Shawn Adkins – has been the only named “person of interest” in the case.

Efforts to reach Adkins for comment in recent weeks have been unsuccessful.

When Hailey Dunn’s remains were found March 16 near the Scurry County lake, the DPS, Texas Ranger and FBI investigators spent three and a half days at the crime scene to gather the teen’s scattered remains and any evidence that could lead to a conviction. They were able to identify her through dental records.

According to investigators, Adkins quit his job in Snyder the day of the teen’s disappearance and is the last known person to have seen her.